1. Get the Finance Decoder

You should have received access to the Finance Decoder Worksheet in your email inbox, but if not you can open it here. Create a copy (File > Make a copy) and get started:

Strong Towns Finance Decoder 1.0.1 - US

Strong Towns Finance Decoder 1.0.1 - Canada

2. Use the Worksheet

Input your city’s financial numbers into the Finance Decoder Worksheet. Check out these instructions to learn what numbers to look for and where to place them.

Get the Instructions

3. Share Your Results

Turn your graphs into shareable graphics by uploading and dropping them into the Canva template.

Use the Canva Template

Change Log: Stay updated with the latest updates, fixes, and improvements to the Finance Decoder

The most recent version of the Finance Decoder Worksheet is available above.

Version 1.0.1 — 2025-04-07

Minor tweaks and updates

• Fixed:

  • Net Debt-to-Total Revenues graph: Flipped the order in which the years were displayed to increase from left to right (Eg. 2009, 2010, 2011…)

• Updated:

  • Swapped color coding on Government Transfers-to-Total Revenues Key to associate “Less Vulnerable” with blue and “More Vulnerable” with yellow

• Improved:

  • N/A

Version 1.0.0 — 2025-04-04

Initial public release

• Launched core Finance Decoder tool

• Introduced core features for financial data interpretation

• Implemented versioning system